JP7423768B2 - Dynamic communication routing to disparate endpoints - Google Patents

Description

Cross-reference of related applications

[0001] This patent application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/926,773, filed October 28, 2019, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. is incorporated into.

[0002] This disclosure generally relates to facilitating the routing of communications. More specifically, techniques are provided for dynamically routing messages with certain intents between a bot and a user device during a communication session configured with multi-channel capabilities.

[0003] The term embodiments and similar terms are intended to broadly refer to all of the subject matter of this disclosure and the claims below. It is to be understood that statements containing these terms do not limit the subject matter described herein or limit the meaning or scope of the claims that follow. The embodiments of the disclosure covered herein are defined by the following claims, rather than this Summary. This Summary is a high-level overview of various aspects of the disclosure and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section below. This Summary of the Invention is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, and is to be used solely for determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. Nor was it intended. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this disclosure, any or all drawings, and each claim.

[0004] Certain embodiments of the present disclosure include computer-implemented methods. The method may include receiving a message from a first user. The message includes a question. The method may further include receiving a response to the message. The response includes an answer to the question. The method may further include publishing the questions and answers to the second user's device. Questions and answers are selected for the second user based on one or more characteristics of the second user. The method may further include receiving a follow-up request from the second user. A follow-up request asks for further information about a response. The method may further include facilitating a communication session between the first user and the second user. The first user provides further information to the second user.

[0005] Certain embodiments of the present disclosure include a system. The system may include one or more data processors and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions, which, when executed on the one or more data processors, cause the one or more data processors to A data processor is caused to perform the methods described above and herein.

[0006] Certain embodiments of the present disclosure provide a tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium containing instructions configured to cause a data processing device to perform the methods described above and herein. including computer program products embodied in.

[0007] The present disclosure is described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0008] FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of one embodiment of a network interaction system. [0009] FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of another embodiment of a network interaction system. [0010] FIG. 3A depicts a block diagram of another embodiment of a network interaction system that includes a connection management system. FIG. 3B shows a block diagram of another embodiment of a network interaction system that includes a connection management system. FIG. 3C shows a block diagram of another embodiment of a network interaction system that includes a connection management system. [0011] FIG. 4 shows a representation of the protocol stack mapping of the operation of the connection component. [0012] FIG. 5 depicts a multi-device communication switching system according to one embodiment. [0013] FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram of one embodiment of a connection management system. [0014] FIG. 7 depicts a block diagram of a network environment for dynamically switching between a bot and a user device during a communication session. [0015] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram representing a network environment for dynamically selecting endpoints across a multiple channel environment. [0016] FIG. 9 shows a block diagram representing a network environment for improving endpoint selection using machine learning techniques. [0017] FIG. 10 illustrates an example process for routing messages between a bot and a user device during a communication session. [0018] FIG. 11A is a screenshot of a graphical user interface used to switch interactions between a bot and a user device during a communication session. FIG. 11B is a screenshot of a graphical user interface used to switch interactions between a bot and a user device during a communication session. FIG. 11C is a screenshot of a graphical user interface used to switch interactions between a bot and a user device during a communication session. FIG. 11D is a screenshot of a graphical user interface used to switch interactions between a bot and a user device during a communication session. FIG. 11E is a screenshot of a graphical user interface used to switch interactions between a bot and a user device during a communication session. FIG. 11F is a screenshot of a graphical user interface used to switch interactions between a bot and a user device during a communication session. FIG. 11G is a screenshot of a graphical user interface used to switch interactions between a bot and a user device during a communication session. FIG. 11H is a screenshot of a graphical user interface used to switch interactions between a bot and a user device during a communication session. FIG. 11I is a screenshot of a graphical user interface used to switch interactions between a bot and a user device during a communication session. FIG. 11J is a screenshot of a graphical user interface used to switch interactions between a bot and a user device during a communication session. FIG. 11K is a screenshot of a graphical user interface used to switch interactions between a bot and a user device during a communication session. FIG. 11L is a screenshot of a graphical user interface used to switch interactions between a bot and a user device during a communication session. FIG. 11M is a screenshot of a graphical user interface used to switch interactions between a bot and a user device during a communication session. FIG. 11N is a screenshot of a graphical user interface used to switch interactions between a bot and a user device during a communication session. [0019] FIG. 12A is a screenshot of a graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12B is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12C is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12D is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12E is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12F is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12G is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12H is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12I is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12J is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12K is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12L is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12M is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12N is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12O is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12P is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12Q is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session. FIG. 12R is a screenshot of the graphical user interface used to switch between bots during a communication session.

[0020] In the accompanying drawings, similar components and/or features may have the same reference labels. Additionally, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label with a dash and a second label that distinguishes similar components from each other. When only a first reference label is used herein, the description is applicable to any one of similar components having the same first reference label, regardless of the second reference label. It is.

[0021] The description that follows provides only preferred examples of embodiment(s) and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the present disclosure. Rather, the following description of the preferred example embodiment(s) will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing the preferred example embodiment(s). It will be understood that various changes may be made in the arrangement and function of the elements without departing from the spirit and scope as set forth in the appended claims.

[0022] FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of one embodiment of a network interaction system 100 that implements and supports certain embodiments and features described herein. One particular embodiment relates to establishing a connection channel between a network device 105 (which may be operated by a user 110) and a terminal device 115 (which may be operated by an agent 120). In certain embodiments, network interaction system 100 may include a client device 130 associated with client 125.

[0023] In certain embodiments, user 110 may be an individual viewing a website or accessing an online service provided by remote server 140. Client 125 may be an entity that provides, operates, or runs a website or online service, or performs tasks available to client 125, as described herein. may be an individual employed or assigned by such an entity to Agent 120 may be an individual, such as a support agent, tasked with providing support or information to user 110 regarding a website or online service. Of the large number of agents, a subset of agents may be appropriate to provide support or information to a particular client 125. Agent 120 may or may not be affiliated with client 125. Each agent may be associated with one or more clients 125. In some non-limiting examples, user 110 may be an individual shopping at an online store from a personal computing device, client 125 may be a business that sells products online, and agent 120 may be an individual shopping at an online store from a personal computing device. may be a person employed by. In various embodiments, user 110, client 125, and agent 120 may be other individuals or entities.

[0024] While FIG. 1 depicts only a single network device 105, terminal device 115, and client device 130, interaction system 100 may include multiple or many (e.g., tens, hundreds, or thousands) may include one or more of each of these types of devices. Similarly, while FIG. 1 depicts only a single user 110, agent 120, and client 125, interaction system 100 may include multiple or multiple each of one or more of such entities. obtain. Therefore, it may be necessary to determine which terminal device should be selected to communicate with a given network device. As a further complication, remote server 140 may also be configured to receive and respond to select network-device communications.

[0025] Connection management system 150 may facilitate strategic routing of communications. A communication may include a message having content (defined based on input from an entity, such as, for example, typed or spoken input). Communications may also include data about the sending device (e.g., IP address, account identifier, device type, and/or operating system), destination address, client identifier, web page or web page elements (e.g., at the time the communication was generated). additional information, such as an identifier or online historical data (of the web page or web page element being visited or otherwise associated with the communication), time (e.g., time and/or date), and/or destination address; data. Other information may also be included in the communication. In some cases, connection management system 150 routes the entire communication to another device. In some cases, connection management system 150 modifies the communication or generates a new communication (eg, based on the original communication). The new or modified communication may include at least some (or all) of the message (or processed version thereof), additional data (e.g., regarding sending device, web page or online history, and/or time); and/or other data identified by connection management system 150 (eg, a particular account identifier or account data associated with a device). New or revised communications may also include other information.

[0026] Part of strategic routing facilitation may include establishing, updating, and using one or more connection channels between network device 105 and one or more terminal devices 115. For example, upon receiving a communication from network device 105, connection management system 150 may first estimate which client (if any) the communication corresponds to. Upon identifying the client, connection management system 150 may identify the terminal device 115 associated with the client for communication with network device 105. In some cases, identifying may include evaluating the profile of each of a plurality of agents (or experts or delegates), where each agent in the plurality of agents (e.g., agent 120) associated with a device (eg, terminal device 115). The reputation may relate to content in the network device's messages. Identification of terminal device 115 may include, for example, the techniques described in U.S. patent application Ser. Incorporated herein by reference.

[0027] In some cases, the connection management system 150 determines whether any connection channel is established between the network device 105 and the terminal device associated with the client (or remote server 140), and whether any If so, it may be determined whether such a channel should be used to exchange a series of communications including that communication.

[0028] Upon selecting terminal device 115 to communicate with network device 105, connection management system 150 may establish a connection channel between network device 105 and terminal device 115. In some cases, connection management system 150 may send a message to selected terminal device 115. The message may request acceptance of a proposed assignment to communicate with network device 105, or may identify that such an assignment has been generated. The message includes information about the network device 105 (e.g., IP address, device type, and/or operating system), information about the associated user 110 (e.g., language spoken, duration of interaction with the client, skill level). , sentiment, and/or topic preferences), received communications, code for generating and transmitting communications to network device 105 (e.g., clickable hyperlinks), and/or communication to network device 105 . May include instructions for generating and transmitting.

[0029] In one example, communications between network device 105 and terminal device 115 may be routed through connection management system 150. Such a configuration allows the connection management system 150 to monitor communication exchanges and detect problems (e.g., as defined based on rules) such as unresponsiveness or extended latency of any device. detecting and enabling. Furthermore, such a configuration may facilitate selective or complete storage of communications, which can later be used, for example, to assess the quality of communication exchanges and/or to identify specific post-communication targets. communication targets) may be used to support learning to update or generate routing rules to promote communication targets.

[0030] In some embodiments, connection management system 150 may monitor communication exchanges in real time and perform automated actions (eg, rules-based actions) based on live communications. For example, if connection management system 150 determines that a communication is related to a particular item (e.g., a product), connection management system 150 may determine that the communication is related to a particular item (e.g., a product), and connection management system 150 may determine that the communication is related to a particular item (e.g., a product). Additional messages containing links to support documents or other information about the item or similar items may be automatically sent to the terminal device 115.

[0031] In one example, designated terminal device 115 may communicate with network device 105 without relaying the communication through connection management system 150. One or both of the devices 105, 115 may (or may not) report certain communication metrics or content to the connection management system 150 to facilitate communication monitoring and/or data storage. .

[0032] As mentioned above, connection management system 150 may route selected communications to remote server 140. Remote server 140 may be configured to provide information in a predetermined manner. For example, remote server 140 may access one or more defined text passages, voice recordings, and/or files to send in response to a communication. Remote server 140 may select particular text passages, records, or files based on, for example, analysis of the received communications (eg, semantic or mapping analysis).

[0033] Routing and/or other decisions or processing performed in connection management system 150 are based at least in part on data and/or rules defined or provided by one or more client devices 130. It can be executed by For example, client device 130 may send a communication identifying agent prioritization, terminal device type, and/or topic/skill matching. As another example, client device 130 applies various variables that potentially affect routing decisions (e.g., language compatibility, expected response time, device type and capabilities, and/or terminal device load balancing). One or more weights may be identified for the purpose. It will be appreciated that which terminal device and/or agent should be associated with a client may be dynamic. Communications from client device 130 and/or terminal device 115 may provide information indicating that a given terminal device and/or agent is to be added or removed as associated with the client. For example, client device 130 has an IP address and an indication as to whether the terminal device with that address should be added to or removed from a list that identifies client-associated terminal devices. Communications may be sent.

[0034] Each communication (e.g., between devices, between a device and connection management system 150, between remote server 140 and connection management system 150, or between remote server 140 and a device) may include one or more It may take place over network 170. Any combination of open or closed networks may be included in one or more networks 170. Examples of suitable networks include the Internet, a personal area network, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or a wireless local area network (WLAN). Other networks may be suitable as well. One or more networks 170 may be fully embedded within or include an intranet, an extranet, or a combination thereof. In some cases, the networks in one or more networks 170 include short-range communication channels, such as Bluetooth® or Bluetooth Low Energy channels. In one embodiment, communication between two or more systems and/or devices may be accomplished by a secure communication protocol, such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS). In addition, the data and/or transaction details may be configured in accordance with, but not limited to, Data Encryption Standard (DES), Triple DES, Rivest-Shamir-Adleman Cipher (RSA), Blowfish Cipher, Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), CAST- 128, CAST-256, Decorrelated Fast Cipher (DFC), Tiny Encryption Algorithm (TEA), eXtended TEA (XTEA), Corrected Block TEA (XXTEA), and/or RC5, etc. It may be encrypted according to any convenient, known or later developed method.

[0035] Network device 105, terminal device 115, and/or client device 130 may be, for example, a portable electronic device (e.g., a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop computer, or a smart wearable device) or a non-portable electronic device (e.g., a (one or more desktop computers, smart appliances, servers, and/or processors). Connection management system 150 may be housed separately from network devices, terminal devices, and client devices, or may be integrated into one or more of such devices (e.g., via installation of an application on the device). It can be a department. Remote server 140 may be housed separately from each device and connection management system 150 and/or may be part of another device or system. It will be appreciated that while each device, server, and system in FIG. 1 is shown as a single device, multiple devices may be used instead. For example, a set of network devices may be used to transmit various communications from a single user, or remote server 140 may include a stack of servers.

[0036] Software agents or applications may be installed and/or executable on the illustrated device, system, or server. In one example, the software agent or application is configured such that the various illustrated elements may operate in a complementary manner. For example, a software agent on a device may be configured to collect and send data about device usage to a separate connection management system, and a software application on the separate connection management system may be configured to receive and process this data. may be configured.

[0037] FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of another embodiment of a network interaction system 200. In general, FIG. 2 illustrates various components configured and arranged to enable network device 205 to communicate with one or more terminal devices 215. The illustrated example includes nine terminal devices 215 included in three local area networks 235.

[0038] In some instances, communications from network device 205 include destination data (eg, a destination IP address) that at least partially or completely indicates which terminal device should receive the communication. Network interaction system 200 may include one or more internetwork connection components 240 and/or one or more intranetwork connection components 255 that may process destination data and facilitate proper routing.

[0039] Each internetwork connection component 245 may be connected to multiple networks 235 and may have multiple network cards installed (eg, each card connected to a different network). For example, internetwork connection component 245 may be connected to wide area network 270 (eg, the Internet) and one or more local area networks 235. In the illustrated case, in order for a communication to be transmitted from network device 205 to any of the terminal devices, the communication must be handled by multiple internetwork connection components 245 in the illustrated system.

[0040] When internetwork connectivity component 245 receives a communication (or a set of packets corresponding to the communication), internetwork connectivity component 245 determines at least a portion of the route to route this communication to the network associated with the destination. obtain. The route may, for example, be determined using a routing table (e.g., stored at a router), which may be predefined or incoming (e.g., from another router or from another device). It may include one or more routes generated or learned based on the message.

[0041] Examples of internetwork connection components 245 include router 260 and gateway 265. Internetwork connection component 245 (eg, gateway 265) may be configured to translate between network systems or protocols. For example, gateway 265 may facilitate communications between Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) devices and Internetwork Packet Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange (IPX/SPX) devices.

[0042] Upon receiving a communication on local area network 235, further routing may still need to be performed. Such intranetwork routing may be performed via intranetwork connection component 255, such as switch 280 or hub 285. Each intranetwork connection component 255 may be connected (eg, wirelessly or wired, such as via an Ethernet cable) to multiple terminal devices 215. Hub 285 may be configured to repeat all received communications to each device to which it is connected. Each terminal device may then evaluate each communication to determine whether it is the destination device or whether the communication should be ignored. Switch 280 may be configured to selectively direct communications only to destination terminal devices.

[0043] In some cases, local area network 235 may be divided into multiple segments, each of which may be associated with independent firewalls, security rules, and network protocols. An intra-network connection component 255 may be provided in each of one, multiple, or all segments to facilitate intra-segment routing. Bridge 280 may be configured to route communications across segment 275.

[0044] Various components analyze destination data in communications in order to appropriately route communications across or within a network. For example, such data may indicate which network the communication should be routed to, which device within the network the communication should be routed to, or which communication the terminal device should process (or ignore). obtain. However, in some cases, it is not immediately known which terminal devices (or even which networks) should participate in communications from a network device.

[0045] As an example, a set of terminal devices may be configured to provide similar types of response communications. Accordingly, it can be expected that queries in communications from network devices may be answered in a similar manner regardless of which network device the communication is routed to. Although this assumption may hold true at a high level, various details related to the terminal device may result in certain routings being advantageous compared to others. For example, the terminal devices in the set may have knowledge of (e.g.) which communication channels are supported, geographic proximity and/or network proximity to network devices, and/or characteristics of the associated agents (e.g., knowledge). may differ from each other in terms of base, experience, language used, availability, general personality or sentiment, etc.). Accordingly, selective routing may facilitate faster responses that respond more accurately and/or completely to network device communications. One problem is that static routing, which maps network devices to terminal devices, may not account for variations in communication topics, channel types, agent availability, etc.

[0046] FIGS. 3A-3C depict block diagrams of other embodiments of network interaction systems 300a-c that include connection management systems. Although each of the illustrated systems 300a-c shows only two local area networks 235 for simplicity, it can be appreciated that the embodiments may be expanded to increase the number of local area networks. . Each of systems 300a-c includes a connection management system 350, which may identify which terminal devices should communicate with network device 205, and which may establish and manage (e.g., maintain or close) connection channels. , may decide whether and when to reroute communications in the exchange, and so on. Accordingly, connection management system 350 may be configured to dynamically and in real time evaluate communications, agent availability, terminal device or agent capabilities, etc. to influence routing decisions.

[0047] In FIG. 3A, connection management system 350 is associated with each of network device 205 and remote server 340 (e.g., connection management system 350a is associated with network device 205, connection management system 350b is associated with , associated with remote server 340). For example, connection management system 350a and/or connection management system 350b may be installed or stored as applications on each of network device 205 and remote server 340, respectively. Execution of the application(s) may involve communication between network device 205 and remote server 340, e.g., to identify terminal device 215 to be selected to participate in a communication exchange with network device 205. can be promoted. The identification may be based on one or more factors disclosed herein (e.g., availability, matching between the topic/level of detail of the communication and the knowledge base of the agent or terminal device, expected latency, channel type availability, etc.) ).

[0048] Client device 330 may provide client data indicating how routing decisions should be made. For example, such data may include indications as to how particular characteristics should be weighted or matched, or constraints or biases (eg, related to load balancing or expected response latency). Client data may also include specifications regarding when a communication channel should be established (or closed) or when communications should be rerouted to a different network device. Client data may be used to define various client-specific rules, such as rules for communication routing and the like.

[0049] The connection management system 350b running on the remote server 340 determines which communication channels are supported, the geographic proximity and/or network proximity to network devices, the latency and/or or stability, the type of terminal device, the capabilities of the terminal device, whether the terminal device (or agent) has previously communicated with a given network device (or user), and/or the associated agent's Various metrics related to the terminal device (e.g., related to a given client) may be monitored, such as characteristics (e.g., knowledge base, experience, language used, availability, general personality or sentiment, etc.) . Accordingly, the connection management system 350b may be able to select routing based on the metric to facilitate a more accurate and/or complete response to network device communications and a faster response.

[0050] In the example illustrated in FIG. 3A, the communication exchange between network device 205 and remote server 340 may facilitate early identification of the destination address. Network device 205 may then use the destination address to direct subsequent communications. For example, network device 205 may send an initial communication (e.g., via one or more internetwork connections and a wide area network) to remote server 340 that identifies one or more corresponding clients. It is possible. Remote server 340 may then identify the set of terminal devices associated with one or more corresponding clients and collect metrics for those terminal devices. Metrics may be evaluated (eg, by remote server 340) to select terminal devices to engage in the communication exchange, and information related to the terminal devices (eg, IP addresses) may be sent to network device 205. In some embodiments, remote server 340 may continuously or periodically collect and evaluate metrics for various terminal devices and store evaluation results in a data store. In such embodiments, upon identifying a set of terminal devices associated with one or more corresponding clients, the remote server 340 accesses the stored assessment results from the data store and stores the stored assessment results. Terminal devices may be selected to participate in the communication exchange based on .

[0051] In FIG. 3B, connection management system 350 may be configured to function as a repeater and/or a destination address. Thus, for example, a set of network devices 205 may send communications that each identify connection management system 350 as the destination. Connection management system 350 may receive each communication and monitor a set of terminal devices in parallel (eg, to generate metrics for each terminal device). Based on monitoring and rules, connection management system 350 may identify terminal devices 215 to which it may relay each communication. Depending on the embodiment, a terminal device's communications may similarly be directed to a consistent destination (e.g., at connection management system 350) for further relaying, or the terminal device may communicate with a corresponding network device. You can start communicating directly. These embodiments may facilitate efficient routing and thorough communication monitoring.

[0052] The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3C is similar to that of FIG. 3B. However, in some embodiments, connection management system 350 is directly connected to an intranetwork component (eg, a terminal device, intranetwork connection, or other).

[0053] It will be appreciated that many variations of FIGS. 3A-3C are contemplated. For example, the connection management system 350 may connect a connection component (e.g., internetwork connection component 245 or intranetwork connection component 255) such that an application corresponding to connection management system 350 (or a portion thereof) is installed on the component. can be associated with. An application may, for example, independently or by communicating with one or more similar or complementary applications (e.g., running on one or more other components, network devices, or remote servers). , can be executed.

[0054] FIG. 4 shows a representation of a protocol stack mapping 400 of the operation of a connection component. More specifically, FIG. 4 identifies the layers of operation in an Open Systems Interaction (OSI) model that correspond to various connected components.

[0055] The OSI model may include multiple logical layers 402-414. These layers are arranged in an ordered stack such that layers 402-412 each service a higher level and layers 404-414 each service a lower level. The OSI model includes a physical layer 402. Physical layer 402 may define physical communication (eg, electrical, optical, or electromagnetic) of parameters. Physical layer 402 also defines connection management protocols, such as protocols for establishing and closing connections. Physical layer 402 may further define flow control protocols and transmission modes.

[0056] Link layer 404 may manage inter-node communications. Link layer 404 may detect and correct errors (eg, transmission errors at physical layer 402) and manage access permissions. Link layer 404 may include a medium access control (MAC) layer and a logical link control (LLC) layer.

[0057] Network layer 406 may coordinate the transfer of (eg, variable length) data (eg, as datagrams) across nodes in the same network. Network layer 406 may translate logical network addresses to physical machine addresses.

[0058] Transport layer 408 may manage transmission quality and reception quality. Transport layer 408 may provide a protocol for transferring data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). Transport layer 408 may perform segmentation/de-segmentation of data packets for transmission and may detect and address transmission errors that occur at layers 402-406. Session layer 410 may initiate, maintain, and terminate connections between local and remote applications. Sessions may be used as part of remote procedure interactions. Presentation layer 412 may encrypt, decrypt, and format data based on data types known to be accepted by the application layer or network layer.

[0059] Application layer 414 may interact with software applications that control or manage communications. Through such applications, application layer 414 may identify (for example) the destination, the status or availability of local resources, and/or the content or formatting of the communication. Various layers 402-414 may perform other functions as available and applicable.

[0060] Intranetwork connectivity components 422, 424 are shown operating at physical layer 402 and link layer 404. More specifically, a hub may operate at the physical layer so that operations may be controlled with respect to receiving and transmitting communications. Since hubs do not have the ability to address communications or filter data, they have little or no ability to operate at a higher level. Switches, on the other hand, may operate at the link layer 404 as they can filter communication frames based on addresses (eg, MAC addresses).

[0061]Internetwork connectivity components 426, 428, on the other hand, are shown operating at a higher level (eg, layers 406-414). For example, a router may filter communication data packets based on address (eg, IP address). A router may forward a packet to a particular port based on the address so as to direct the packet to the appropriate network. Gateways operate at the network layer and above and may perform similar filtering and navigation as well as further data translation (eg, across protocols or architectures).

[0062] Connection management system 450 may interact with and/or operate on one, more than one, all, or any of the various layers in various embodiments. For example, connection management system 450 may interact with the hub to dynamically adjust which terminal devices the hub communicates with. As another example, connection management system 450 communicates with a bridge, switch, router, or gateway to influence which terminal device the component selects as a destination (e.g., MAC, logical, or physical) address. It is possible. As a further example, connection management system 450 may perform segmentation of data packets on transport layer 408, session duration on session layer 410, and/or encryption and/or compression on presentation layer 412. May be monitored, controlled, or directed. In some embodiments, the connection management system 450 is configured to (e.g., , by routing or modifying an existing communication (between a network device and a terminal device) in a particular way, and/or by creating a new communication that includes certain information (e.g., a new destination address) based on the existing communication. can interact with various layers by generating . Accordingly, connection management system 450 provides communication routing and channel establishment (or maintenance or termination) through interaction with various devices and/or through influencing operations at various protocol stack layers. can have an impact on

[0063] FIG. 5 depicts a multi-device communication switching system 500 according to one embodiment. System 500 includes a network device 505 configured to communicate with various types of terminal devices over various types of communication channels.

[0064] In the illustrated example, network device 505 may transmit communications over a cellular network (eg, via base station 510). Communications may be routed to operational network 515. Operating network 515 may include a connection management system 520 that receives communications and identifies which terminal devices should respond to the communications. Such determination may include identifying the client to which the communication pertains (e.g., based on content analysis or user input indicative of the client) and one for each of the one or more terminal devices associated with the client. or may depend on determining multiple metrics. For example, in FIG. 5, each cluster of terminal devices 530a-c may correspond to a different client. Terminal devices may be geographically co-located or distributed. Metrics may be determined based on stored or learned data and/or real-time monitoring (eg, based on availability).

[0065] Connection management system 520 may communicate with various terminal devices via one or more routers 525 or other internetwork or intranetwork connection components. Connection management system 520 collects data from or related to communications, terminal device operations, client rules, and/or user-related actions (e.g., online activities) in one or more data stores. may be analyzed and/or stored. Such data can affect communication routing.

[0066] Various other devices may also be used, particularly to affect communication routing and/or processing. For example, in the illustrated case, connection management system 520 is also connected to web server 540. Accordingly, connection management system 520 may retrieve data of interest, such as technical product details and the like.

[0067] Network device 505 may also be connected to a web server (eg, including web server 545). In some instances, communication with such a server is provided with an initial option to initiate a communication exchange with connection management system 520. For example, network device 505 may detect that communication opportunities are available and such options may be presented while visiting a particular web page.

[0068] One or more elements of communication system 500 may also be connected to social networking server 550. Social networking server 550 may aggregate data received from various user devices. Thus, for example, connection management system 520 may be able to infer the general (or user-specific) behavior of a given user or class of users.

[0069] FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram of one embodiment of a connection management system 600. A message receiver interface 605 may receive messages. In some cases, the message is sent by a source device (e.g., housed separately from connection management system 600 or housed within the same housing), such as a network device or a terminal device. may be received as part of a communication. In some cases, the communication may be part of a series of communications or communication exchanges, which includes a series of messages or message exchanges being routed between two devices (e.g., a network device and a terminal device). may be included. This message or communication exchange may be part of and/or define an interaction between devices. A communication or operational channel may include one or more protocols (eg, routing protocols, task assignment protocols, and/or addressing protocols) used to facilitate routing and communication exchanges between devices.

[0070] In some cases, the message may include a message generated based on input received at a local or remote user interface. For example, the message may include a message generated based on a button or key press or a recorded audio signal. In one example, the message is such as one generated when a network device detects that it is presenting a particular app page or web page, or that it has provided a particular input command (e.g., a key sequence). , including automatically generated messages. Messages may include instructions or requests, such as to initiate a communication exchange.

[0071] In some cases, the message may include or be associated with an identifier of the client. For example, the message may explicitly identify the client (or a device associated with the client), the message may include or be associated with a web page or app page associated with the client, and the message may include: The message may include or be associated with a destination address associated with the client, or the message may include or be associated with an identification of an item (eg, a product) or service associated with the client. As an example, a network device may present a particular client's app page, which may provide an option to send a communication to an agent. Upon receiving user input corresponding to the message, a communication may be generated to include the message and an identifier for the particular client.

[0072] Processing engine 610 may process received communications and/or messages. Processing may include, for example, extracting one or more specific data elements (eg, message, client identifier, network device identifier, account identifier, etc.). Processing may include converting formatting or communication types (eg, to be compatible with a particular device type, operating system, communication channel type, protocol, and/or network).

[0073] A message evaluation engine 615 may evaluate messages (eg, extracted or received). Evaluation may include, for example, identifying one or more categories or tags for the message. Examples of categories or tag types may include (for example) topic, sentiment, complexity, and urgency. The difference between categorizing a message and tagging it is that while categories can be limited (e.g., according to a predetermined set of category options), tags can be open. be. Topics may include, for example, technical issues, a use question, or requests. Categories or tags may include, for example, semantic analysis of a message (e.g., by identifying keywords, sentence structure, repeated words, punctuation characters, and/or non-article words); (with categories) and/or message-related statistics (eg, typing speed and/or response latency).

[0074] In some cases, message evaluation engine 615 may determine metrics for the message. Metrics may include, for example, number of characters, number of words, number of capital letters, number of words in all caps, or number of instances of a particular character or punctuation mark (eg, exclamation mark, question mark, and/or period). Metrics may include ratios such as the percentage of sentences ending in an exclamation point (or question mark), the percentage of words in all caps, and so on.

[0075] Message evaluation engine 615 may store messages, message metrics, and/or message statistics in message data store 620. Each message also includes data identifying the corresponding source device, destination device, network device, terminal device, client, one or more categories, one or more stages, and/or message-related statistics. It may be stored in conjunction with other data (eg, metadata). Various components of connection management system 600 (e.g., message evaluation engine 615 and/or interaction management engine 625) may access message data stores to retrieve query response messages, message metrics, and/or message statistics. 620 may be queried.

[0076] Interaction management engine 625 may determine to which devices communications should be routed and how receiving and transmitting devices should communicate. Each of these decisions determines, for example, whether a particular network device (or any network device associated with a particular user) is a terminal device in a set of terminal devices (e.g., any terminal associated with connection management system 600). (or any terminal device associated with one or more particular clients).

[0077] In some cases, when a network device (or other network device associated with the same user or profile) has previously communicated with a given terminal device, communication routing generally may be biased toward the same terminal device. Other factors that may affect routing may include, for example, whether the terminal device (or corresponding agent) is available and/or the terminal device's expected response latency. Such factors may be considered in absolute terms or relative to similar metrics corresponding to other terminal devices. How such factors should be evaluated and weighted to determine whether a rerouting rule (e.g., client-specific or general rule) foregoes agent consistency. can be shown.

[0078] When a network device (or other network device associated with the same user or account) has not previously communicated with a given terminal device, the selection of the terminal device may depend on the knowledge base of the various agents, e.g. corresponds to the topic of communication, the availability of various agents at a given time and/or on the channel type, the type and/or capabilities of the terminal device (e.g. associated with the client), etc. It can be carried out based on In one example, the rules may identify how to determine subparameters for one or more factors such as these and the weight to assign to each parameter. By combining (eg, summing) the weighted subparameters, parameters for each agent may be determined. Selection of a terminal device may then be performed by comparing parameters of the terminal devices.

[0079] With respect to determining how devices should communicate, interaction management engine 625 determines whether (for example) a terminal device should respond to a communication via (for example) an SMS message, a voice call, a video communication, etc. can be determined. The communication type may include, for example, a communication type priority list (e.g., defined at least in part by a client or user), a type of communication previously received from a network device (e.g., to promote consistency), The selection may be based on the complexity of the received message, the capabilities of the network devices, and/or the availability of one or more terminal devices. Clearly, some communication types will result in real-time communication (e.g., where fast message responses are expected), while others will result in real-time communication (e.g., with a few minutes or hours between messages). may result in asynchronous communication (with acceptable delays).

[0080] Additionally, interaction management engine 625 may determine whether a continuous channel between two devices should be established, used, or terminated. Continuous channels may be structured to facilitate the routing of future communications from network devices to designated terminal devices. This bias can persist even across message series. In some cases, a representation of a continuous channel (eg, identifying an agent) may be included in a presentation to be presented on a network device. In this way, users can understand that communications should be routed consistently to increase efficiency.

[0081] In one instance, the parameters include one or more factors described herein to determine connection parameters corresponding to a given network device and terminal device (e.g., one or more (including weights for each of a plurality of factors). The parameters may relate to global matches or matches specific to a given communication or sequence of communications. Thus, for example, the parameters may reflect the extent to which a given terminal device is expected to be suitable for responding to network device communications. In some cases, parametric analysis may be used to identify each of the terminal devices to which a given communication should be routed and whether to establish, use, or terminate a connection channel. When parameter analysis is used to address both routing decisions and channel decisions, the parameters associated with each decision may be determined in the same, similar, or different manner.

[0082] Thus, for example, depending on whether the parameter is for predicting the strength of a long-term match or for responding to a specific message query, different factors may be It will be understood that this may be considered. For example, in the former case, overall schedule and time of day considerations may be important, whereas in the latter case, immediate availability may be weighted higher. One parameter may be determined for a single network device/terminal device combination, or multiple parameters may be determined, each characterizing a match between a given network device and a different terminal device. .

[0083] As an example, a set of three terminal devices associated with a client may be evaluated for potential communication routing. Parameters may be generated for each associated match for a particular communication. Each of the first two terminal devices may have previously communicated with the network device that sent the communication. The input from the network device may be indicative of positive feedback associated with the communication interaction(s) with the first device. Therefore, the past interaction subparameters (calculated according to the rules) for the first, second, and third devices may be 10, 5, and 0, respectively. (Negative feedback inputs may result in negative subparameters). It may be determined that only a third terminal device is available. It may be expected that the second terminal device will be available for response within 15 minutes, but that the first terminal device will not be available for response until the next day. Therefore, the fast response subparameters for the first, second, and third devices may be 1, 3, and 10. Finally, the extent to which the agent (associated with the terminal device) is knowledgeable about the topic in the communication can be estimated. It may be determined that the agent associated with the third terminal device is more knowledgeable than the agents associated with the other two devices, and the subparameters would be 3, 4, and 9. In this example, the rule does not include weighting or normalization parameters (although in other cases the rule may include them), and the parameters would be 14, 11, and 19. Therefore, the rule may indicate that the message should be routed to the device with the highest parameter, ie, the third terminal device. If routing to a particular terminal device fails, the message may be routed to the device with the next highest parameter, and so on.

[0084] The parameters may be compared to one or more absolute or relative thresholds. For example, to select terminal devices to which communications may be routed, parameters for a set of terminal devices may be compared with each other to identify high parameters. As another example, a parameter (eg, a high parameter) may be compared to one or more absolute thresholds to determine whether to establish a continuous channel with the terminal device. The overall threshold for establishing a continuous channel may (although need not be) higher than the threshold for consistently routing communications in a given series of messages. This difference between the overall threshold and the threshold for deciding whether to route a communication consistently is This could be because matching is important. In some embodiments, the overall threshold for using consecutive channels is (although need not be) for consistently routing communications in a given series of messages, and/or may be lower than the threshold for establishing a channel.

[0085] Interaction management engine 625 may interact with account engine 630 in various contexts. For example, account engine 630 may look up an identifier for a network device or terminal device in account data store 635 to identify the account corresponding to the device. Additionally, the accounting engine 630 may include data regarding previous communication exchanges (e.g., times, other device(s) involved, channel type, resolution stage, topic(s), and/or or associated client identifier), (for example - for each of the one or more clients - whether any channels exist, the terminal device associated with each channel, establishment time, frequency of use, date of last use, optional (e.g., terminal device selection, response latency, terminal device consistency, agent expertise, and/or communication type preferences or data about the user's or agent's preferences or constraints (relating to constraints) and/or data about the user's or agent's characteristics (e.g. age, language(s) of preference or preference, geographic location, interests); etc.) can be maintained.

[0086] Additionally, interaction management engine 625 may alert account engine 630 of various connection channel actions so that account data store 635 may be updated to reflect current channel data. For example, upon establishing a channel, interaction management engine 625 may notify account engine 630 of the establishment and identify one or more of a network device, a terminal device, an account, and a client. The account engine 635 may then notify the user of the existence of the channel so that the user (in some cases) is aware of the agent consistency being utilized.

[0087] Interaction management engine 625 may further interact with client mapping engine 640, which may map communications to one or more clients (and/or associated brands). In some cases, communications received from the network device itself include an identifier corresponding to the client (eg, an identifier of the client, web page, or app page). The identifier may be included as part of the message (eg, which may be detected by client mapping engine 640) or as other data in a message-inclusive communication. Client mapping engine 640 may then look up the identifier in client data store 645 to retrieve additional data regarding the client and/or the client's identifier.

[0088] In some cases, a message may not specifically correspond to any client. For example, a message may include a general query. Client mapping engine 640 may, for example, perform semantic analysis on the message, identify one or more keywords, and identify one or more clients associated with the keyword(s). . In some cases, a single client is identified. In some cases, multiple clients are identified. The identity of each client may then be presented via the network device so that the user (eg, via an associated terminal device) may select the client with which to communicate.

[0089] Client data store 645 may include the identification of one or more terminal devices (and/or agents) associated with the client. Terminal routing engine 650 may retrieve or collect data related to each of one, more, or all such terminal devices (and/or agents) to influence routing decisions. For example, the terminal routing engine 650 may maintain a terminal data store 655 that includes the terminal device's device type, operating system, communication type capabilities, installed application accessories, geographic location, and/or identifiers (e.g. , IP address), etc. Some information may be updated dynamically. For example, information indicating whether a terminal device is available may be transmitted from (e.g.) communications from the terminal device (e.g., whether the device is asleep, turned off/on, or in an inactive/active state). communication routing (e.g., whether a terminal device is involved in a communication exchange or is assigned to participate in it); may be dynamically updated based on communication from a network device or terminal device indicating that a communication exchange has ended or started.

[0090] It is understood that in various contexts, being engaged in one or more communication exchanges does not necessarily indicate that the terminal device is not available to engage in another communication exchange. Good morning. Various factors such as communication type (e.g., message), client-identified or user-identified target response time, and/or system load (e.g., general or user-related) may affect how many terminal devices there are. may be involved in exchanges.

[0091] When the interaction management engine 625 identifies a terminal device to engage in a communication exchange or connection channel, it may notify the terminal routing engine 650, which retrieves the terminal device from the terminal data store 655, e.g. , IP) address, device type, protocol, etc. may be retrieved. Processing engine 610 may then modify the message-containing communication, such as to have a particular format (in some cases), conform to a particular protocol, etc., or generate a new communication (containing the message). It is possible. In some cases, new or modified messages may include additional data, such as account data, message chronicles, and/or client data corresponding to network devices.

[0092] Message transmitter interface 660 may then transmit the communication to the terminal device. The transmission may include, for example, a wired or wireless transmission to a device housed in a separate housing. The terminal devices may include terminal devices in the same or different network (eg, local area network) as connection management system 600. Accordingly, sending the communication to the terminal device may include sending the communication to an inter- or intra-network connected component.

[0093] Systems and methods for dynamically switching between a bot and a user device (e.g., operated by a live user) during a communication session with a network device (e.g., operated by a user) are provided. provided. In some implementations, a bot may be configured to communicate autonomously with network devices. Additionally, bots can be configured for specific capabilities. Examples of capabilities include updating database records, providing updates to users, providing additional data about the user to agents, determining the user's intent, and directing the user to the destination system based on the intent. escalating a communication session to include one or more additional bots or agents, and others. may include suitable capabilities. In some implementations, while the bot is communicating with a network device (e.g., operated by a user) during a communication session (e.g., using a chat-enabled interface), the communication server A decision to switch to a user device may be made automatically and dynamically. For example, a bot may communicate with a user regarding some specific task (e.g., updating a database record associated with the user), while a terminal device may communicate with the user regarding a certain task (e.g., to resolve a technical problem). may communicate with users about more difficult tasks (such as communicating using channels).

[0094] In some implementations, determining whether to switch between a bot and a user device during a communication session may be based on an analysis of one or more characteristics of messages in the communication session. Additionally, dynamic sentiment parameters may be generated to represent sentiment of messages, conversations, entities, agents, etc. For example, if the dynamic sentiment parameters indicate that the user is dissatisfied with the bot, the system may automatically switch the bot to the user's device so that a live agent can communicate with the user. For all purposes, see US patent application Ser. No. 15/171,525, filed June 2, 2016, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In some examples, determining whether to switch between the bot and the user device may be performed without prompting from the user. The determination may be based on characteristics of the current message in a communication session (e.g., a chat), characteristics of previous messages sent by the user in a previous communication session, a trajectory of characteristics (e.g., sentiment) across multiple messages in a conversation, or may be performed automatically at the communication server based on any number of factors, including additional information associated with the user (e.g., profile information, preference information, and other suitable information associated with the user) .

[0095] FIG. 7 depicts a block diagram of a network environment for dynamically switching between a bot and a user device during a communication session. In some implementations, network environment 700 may include network device 705, communication server 710, user device 715, and bot 720. Communication server 710 may be a server having one or more processors with at least one storage device and may be configured to perform the methods and techniques described herein. For example, communication server 710 may manage communication sessions between a network device (eg, operated by a user) and a terminal device (eg, operated by an agent). Communication server 710 may establish a communication channel between network device 705 and user device 715 so that network device 705 and user device 715 may communicate with each other during a communication session. A communication session may facilitate the exchange of one or more messages between network device 705 and user device 715. This disclosure is not limited to exchanging messages during a communication session. Other forms of communication may be facilitated by the communication session, such as, for example, video communication (eg, video feed) and audio communication (eg, Voice-Over-IP connection).

[0096] In some implementations, communication server 710 may establish a communication channel between network device 705 and bot 720. Bot 720 may be code configured to autonomously communicate with network device 705 when executed. For example, bot 720 may be configured to automatically generate a message to initiate a conversation with a user associated with network device 705 and/or to automatically respond to a message from network device 705. It can be. Additionally, communications server 710 may be associated with the platform. Clients (eg, systems external to the platform) may use the platform to deploy bots in their internal communication systems. In some examples, clients may use their own bots in the platform, which enable clients to implement the methods and techniques described herein into their internal communication systems. .

[0097] In some implementations, a bot may be defined by one or more sources. For example, data store 730 may store code representing a bot defined (eg, created or coded) by a client of the communication server. For example, a client that has defined its own bot may load the bot onto communication server 710. Bots defined by clients may be stored in client bot data store 730. Data store 740 may store code representing bots defined by third party systems. For example, third party systems may include independent software vendors. Data store 750 may store code representing bots defined by entities associated with communication server 710. For example, a bot coded by an entity may be loaded onto or accessible by communication server 710 such that the bot may run and communicate autonomously with a user. In some implementations, communication server 710 may use cloud network 760 to access bots stored in data store 730, data store 740, and/or data store 750. Cloud network 760 can be any network, such as an open network such as the Internet, a personal area network, a local area network (LAN), a campus area network (CAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), or a wireless network. It may include a private network such as a local area network (WLAN), intranet, extranet, or other backbone.

[0098] Additionally, user device 715 may be operated by a user. User device 715 can be any portable device (eg, cell phone, tablet, laptop) or non-portable device (eg, electronic kiosk, desktop computer, etc.). In some cases, the agent may use a browser running on user device 715 to access the website. For example, a website may include a console or platform running on a browser of user device 715. Agents may be logged into the platform using a browser. One or more login credentials (e.g., username, password, and the like) establish the agent's identity before the agent can gain access to the console or a web application contained in the console. Can be used to authenticate. Examples of consoles include one or more APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), a dashboard containing one or more functions, a console that can establish or participate in a communication session (requires downloading a plug-in) The platform may include a web-hosted application running on a web browser (without a web browser), and other suitable interfaces. Additionally, the console may include one or more web applications or functions that may be executed. Web applications or functionality may be executed on a browser, communication server 710, local server, remote server, or other suitable computing device. For example, a web application, native application, or functionality may enable an agent to communicate with a user and view communications between the user and one or more bots.

[0099] In some implementations, communication server 710 may be configured to dynamically switch between bot 720 and user device 715 during a particular communication session. For example, communications server 710 may facilitate communications sessions between network device 705 and bot 720. Bot 720 may be configured to communicate autonomously with network device 705 by exchanging one or more messages with network device 705 during a communication session. Communication server 710 dynamically determines whether to switch bot 720 to user device 715 (or vice versa, as the case may be) so that a live agent may communicate with network device 705 on behalf of bot 720. obtain. In some implementations, the switch may be performed without prompting from network device 705 or user device 715. For example, switching can change the message parameters of messages exchanged between network device 705 and bot 720 (e.g., the sentiment of a message or series of messages) without prompting network device 705 to request a terminal device. (score).

[00100] In some implementations, the communication server 710 may automatically switch between the bot 720 and the user device 715 based on the characteristics of the messages exchanged between the bot 720 and the network device 705. can be determined. In some cases, analyzing the text of a message to determine characteristics (eg, message parameters) may include analyzing textual or non-textual attributes associated with the message. For example, communications server 710 may extract one or more lines of text included in a message from network device 705. Communications server 710 may identify whether one or more lines of text include an anchor. Examples of anchors are polarity (e.g., sentiment or intent; the word "frustrated" corresponds to negative or dissatisfied polarity; the word "happy" corresponds to (e.g. corresponding to positive polarity). For example, the term "dispute" may be negative to one client, but neutral or positive to a second client. In some cases, anchors may be determined dynamically using supervised machine learning techniques. For example, one or more clustering algorithms may be run on the stored messages to find patterns within the stored messages. Clustered messages may be further filtered and evaluated to determine anchors. Additionally, one or more words near the identified anchor may be parsed for amplifiers. Examples of amplifiers increase or decrease the intensity associated with the polarity of the anchor, e.g., "really," "not really," "kind of." This is a term that means Characteristics may include, for example, speed of typing, number of special characters used in the message (e.g. exclamation mark, question mark, etc.), keywords, sentence structure, repeated words, punctuation characters and/or non-article words. (e.g., with one or more selected categories), and/or message-related statistics (e.g., response latency).

[00101] As a non-limiting example, a message parameter can be a numerical value that indicates a high intensity of negative polarity (e.g., a message parameter of 20 on a scale of 0 to 100, with lower numbers indicating a higher degree of negative polarity). higher numbers indicate positive polarity). An algorithm may be used to calculate message parameters. For example, the algorithm may be based on supervised machine learning techniques. In a further example, the term ``kind of'' may be used with the anchor ``kind of'' (as in the sentence ``I kind of don't like''). If it is close to ``don't like'', the term ``much'' can be identified as an amplifier term indicating moderate strength of negative polarity. In this case, message parameters may be generated based on medium strength identifications of negative polarity. As a non-limiting example, a message parameter may be a numerical value indicating a moderate strength of negative polarity (eg, a message parameter of 40 as opposed to a message parameter of 20). In some cases, message parameters may be used to determine which secondary queue should store the communication.

[00102] In some implementations, a characteristic of a message may be sentiment associated with the message. Message parameters may represent the sentiment of the message. For example, if the sentiment of a message is happy, the message parameter may be one value or range of values, whereas if the sentiment of the message is anger, the message parameter may be another value or range of values. could be. Deciding whether to switch between the bot and the terminal device may be based on message parameters, which are continuously and automatically updated with each new message received at the communication server 710.

[00103] In some implementations, communication server 710 may recommend or predict a response to a message received from network device 705. For example, communication server 710 may include a message recommendation system, which may use machine learning models to evaluate messages received from network devices 705 and recommend responses to those received messages. The message recommendation system may display a set of recommended messages on the user device 715 to assist the agent in communicating with the network device 705.

[00104] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram representing a network environment 800 for dynamically selecting endpoints across multiple communication channels. In some implementations, network environment 800 may include network device 805, user device 810, and communication server 820. Network device 805 may be similar to network device 705 and is therefore not described here for brevity. User device 810 may be similar to terminal device 715 and is therefore not described here for brevity. Communication server 820 may be similar to communication server 710 and is therefore not described here for brevity.

[00105] Communication server 820 may establish or facilitate the establishment of a communication channel between network device 805 and user device 810. As illustrated in FIG. 8, communication server 820 may establish a communication channel C840, which allows network device 805 and user device 810 to exchange one or more messages. As a non-limiting example, communication channel C 840 may be a web chat feature of a website, communication channel B 835 may be a chat application running on a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone), and communication channel A 830 may be a web chat feature of a website. It may be a Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) audio channel that allows agents to communicate with users.

[00106] Communication server 820 may configure bot 825 to communicate autonomously with network device 805. In some implementations, bot 825 may access and execute one or more protocols that enable bot 825 to communicate with network device 805 using communication channel C840. Continuing with the non-limiting example above, bot 825 may access and execute protocols for communicating via a web chat feature of a website. In this example, the protocol may include a coding language specific to the web chat feature for exchanging messages using the web chat feature. The protocol, when executed, converts a message (e.g., a text string or other content) input by the agent at the terminal device 810 into structured content (e.g., content separated into independent data fields); It may include code that maps structured content to elements of a website's web chat functionality. When input is received at terminal device 810 (e.g., by an agent), bot 825 converts the structured content into elements of the web chat functionality to enable the message to be communicated using the web chat functionality. can be translated to .

[00107] In some implementations, bot 825 may also be configured to communicate with network device 805 using communication channel B 835. Communication channel B835 may be a different communication channel than communication channel C840. Additionally, communication channel B 835 may require different elements than those required for communication channel C 840 to facilitate communication. Bot 825 may be configured to translate structured content into elements of communication channel B835. Continuing with the non-limiting example described above, communication channel B835 may be an in-app chat feature of a native application running on the smartphone. One or more elements may be required to facilitate communication using communication channel B835. For example, FACEBOOK MESSENGER may be a native application running on a smartphone. In this example, one or more elements of FACEBOOK MESSENGER may be a FACEBOOK MESSENGER-specific template needed to facilitate communication using FACEBOOK MESSENGER. The protocol that enables bot 825 to communicate using communication channel B 835 may map the structured content to a template in the FACEBOOK MESSENGER native application in order to send the structured content as a message within the FACEBOOK MESSENGER application. .

[00108] In some examples, a mobile application (e.g., a mobile native application) may be executed using the operating system of a networked device (e.g., a smartphone) (on the mobile device or on one or more external servers). may include executable code (stored on the computer). In some examples, a mobile application is composed of native user interface (UI) components (generated and stored on a mobile device), but not in an interpreted language (e.g., using a web-based coding language). may include the described hybrid mobile applications. This disclosure is not limited to mobile native or hybrid applications; therefore, any type of mobile application may be used in the methods described herein.

[00109] In some implementations, bot 825 may also be configured to communicate with network device 805 using communication channel A830. Communication channel A 835 may be a different communication channel than communication channel C 840 and communication channel B 835. Further, communication channel A 830 may require different elements than those required for communication channel C 840 and communication channel B 835 to facilitate communication. Bot 825 may be configured to translate structured content into elements of communication channel A830. Continuing with the non-limiting example described above, communication channel A 830 may be a VOIP audio communication link between network device 805 and user device 810. One or more elements may be required to facilitate communication using communication channel A830. The protocol may include a mapping of structured content to elements associated with communication channel A830.

[00110] In some implementations, communication server 820 dynamically and autonomously manages communication sessions between different communication channels such that bot 825 may continuously communicate with network device 805 regardless of the communication channel. and/or automatically. For example, network device 805 may be communicating with user device 810 using first communication channel 845 (ie, communication channel C 840). Network device 805 may send a message indicating that the user operating network device 805 intends to change the communication channel currently being used for the communication session. For example, network device 805 may indicate that second communication channel 850 is a target communication channel for continuing a communication session with user device 810. Bot 825 may automatically detect an indication that the communication channel should be changed from first communication channel 845 to second communication channel 850. For example, bot 825 may continually evaluate messages exchanged during a communication session to detect that the communication channel should be changed. Upon detecting an indication that the communication channel should be changed, the communication server may identify a user identifier associated with network device 805. For example, user data database 815 may store user identifiers for various users. A user identifier may be a string of text and/or numbers that uniquely identifies a network device. If, at any given time, communication server 820 determines that the same user identifier is associated with two active communication channels, communication server 820 determines that the network device continues the communication session, but This can be recognized as a request to change.

[00111] Communication server 820 may be configured to support continuity between different communication channels. For example, the target communication channel (e.g., second communication channel 850) continues a communication session with network device 805, albeit using second communication channel 850 instead of first communication channel 845. can be automatically used by bots 825 to In some implementations, bot 825 may automatically send messages to network device 805 using second communication channel 850. Sending the message to network device 805 may indicate to network device 805 that the communication channel transfer is complete. In some implementations, communication server 820 may automatically detect that the communication channel has changed from first communication channel 845 to second communication channel 850. For example, communication server 820 may recognize a user identifier associated with network device 805 when network device 805 is communicating with bot 825 using first communication channel 845. If network device 805 begins using second communication channel 850 (e.g., without indicating any intention to change communication channels during a communication session), communication server 820 determines that the user identifier for network device 805 is currently It may automatically detect that it is associated with two active communication channels (eg, first communication channel 845 and second communication channel 850). The communication server 820 determines that the first communication channel 845 is associated with a recent history of messages (e.g., messages sent or exchanged within the past five minutes) and that the second communication channel 850 is associated with a recent history of messages. It may be detected that it is not associated with recent history (eg, within the past few minutes). As a result, communication server 820 may determine that network device 805 requests to transfer the communication session from first communication channel 845 to second communication channel 850. Communication server 820 accesses a protocol associated with second communication channel 850 such that bot 825 or user device 810 uses second communication channel 850 instead of using first communication channel 845. The transfer may be performed by running bot 825 using the accessed protocol to enable communication with network device 805.

[00112] In some implementations, one or more machine learning techniques may be used to identify patterns in network device 805's communication channel usage. For example, use of communication channels by network device 805 may be tracked and recorded (and may be stored as historical data). Machine learning techniques use historical data to identify which communication channels a network device 805 is most likely to use when communicating with a particular entity (e.g., a bot, an enterprise, a terminal device, an agent, etc.). can be applied to When initiating a communication from a user device 810 (or a bot 825 or any other end device) to a network device 805, the communication server 820 determines the information that the network device 805 may use (based on the results of machine learning techniques). The highest type of communication channel can be established. As network devices 805 begin to use different communication channels more frequently, communication server 820 identifies this changing trend and uses the most used or most frequently used communication channels to A communications session may be initiated.

[00113] FIG. 9 shows a block diagram representing a network environment 900 for improving endpoint selection using machine learning techniques. Network environment 900 may include a network device 905 (operated by a user), a communication server 910, a bot 915, and a user device 920. Communication server 910 may facilitate the establishment of a communication channel that allows network device 905 and at least one bot 915 and terminal device 920 to communicate.

[00114] Communication server 910 may include an intelligent routing system 925, a message recommendation system 930, and a message data store 935. Intelligent routing system 925 and message recommendation system 930 may each include one or more computing devices having a processor and memory that execute instructions to perform certain operations. In some implementations, intelligent routing system 925 may be a bot configured to intelligently route communications received from network devices to appropriate destinations. Intelligent routing system 925 may include one or more processors configured to execute code that causes one or more machine learning or artificial intelligence techniques to intelligently route messages. In some implementations, intelligent routing system 925 may perform one or more machine learning techniques to train a model to predict destinations associated with messages received from network device 905.

[00115] As a non-limiting example, intelligent routing system 925 may be established or facilitated by communication server 910 (e.g., a native application configured to allow users to communicate with each other across various devices). Messages may be received from network device 905 over a communication channel. Intelligent routing system 925 may evaluate incoming messages according to certain embodiments described above. For example, intelligent routing system 925 may evaluate content (e.g., text, audio clips, images, emoticons, or other suitable content) included in received messages using a trained machine learning model. . The content of the message may be input to a machine learning model to generate a predicted destination (eg, a particular terminal device or bot). The machine learning model may be continuously trained based on feedback signals 940 received from network device 905. In some implementations, intelligent routing system 925 may request acknowledgment from network device 905 for the predicted destination. As a non-limiting example, intelligent routing system 925 may evaluate the message using machine learning techniques, and the results of the evaluation may include a prediction that bot 915 is the destination for the message. To confirm, intelligent routing system 925 may automatically request feedback signal 940. For example, feedback signal 940 includes a request for network device 905 to acknowledge whether bot 915 is the correct destination for a message (e.g., "Is tech support the correct destination?"). obtain. If the network device 905 sends an acknowledgment that the bot 915 is the correct destination (e.g., the destination intended by the user operating the network device 905), the intelligent routing system 925 determines that the received message Train the machine learning model to predict that future messages containing the same or similar content (e.g., a similarity threshold, such as a 10 percent difference in content) should be routed to the bot 915 It is possible. However, if the intelligent routing system 925 receives a feedback signal 940 indicating that the bot 915 was not the correct or intended destination for the received message, but rather that the user device 920 was the correct or intended destination. , intelligent routing system 925 trains a machine learning model such that future messages containing exactly the same or similar content as the received message will be routed to user device 920 (instead of bot 915). It is possible. In some implementations, intelligent routing system 925 may not immediately update or train the machine learning model to route future messages to terminal device 920; rather, intelligent routing system 925 may not immediately update or train the machine learning model to route future messages to terminal device 920; rather, intelligent routing system 925 may may wait until a threshold number of incorrect routes to bot 915 before routing all future messages with exactly the same or similar content to user device 920. As a non-limiting example, the intelligent routing system 925 may be routed to the bot 915 after five instances in which a network device has sent a feedback signal indicating that the bot 915 is not the correct or intended destination. The bot 915 may begin to route future messages to the user device 920 instead of the bot 915 .

[00116] In some embodiments, the intelligent routing system 925 selects where to route a given message based on received bids to process a particular request in the message. obtain. Intelligent routing system 925 may broadcast the intent to disparate services and determine who is willing to bid on handling the request. Bidding parties may respond with their level of confidence to successfully process the request and their plans to carry out processing of the request. Intelligent routing system 925 may evaluate all responses from bidding parties and determine which bidding party to use for a given message based on machine learning policies.

[00117] Message data store 935 may store some or all (eg, but not all) messages previously received from one or more network devices. Additionally, message data store 935 may also store some or all messages sent by the terminal device or bot during previous communication sessions with the network device. Message data store 935 may also store some or all messages sent by the network device to the bot during the communication session. Additionally, message data store 935 may store some or all messages sent by a bot to a network device during a communication session. In some implementations, message data store 935 may be a database of all messages processed by (eg, sent by or received at) communication server 910.

[00118] Message recommendation system 930 may analyze a database of messages stored in message data store 935. A database of messages in message data store 935 may include one or more questions and answers, queries and responses, and other sets of communications between a user and a bot, agent, or other endpoint. . The communication set may further be associated with a rating or rating regarding the success of communication with the user. In some embodiments, message recommendation system 930 may solicit questions and answers from users identified as having expertise in the subject matter of the questions and answers. The selected set of questions and answers may be further provided and presented to the user of network device 905 by message recommendation system 930. Information regarding specific question and answer selections established by a user of network device 905 may be tracked in message data store 935 as well as linking network device 905 to expert user device 920 associated with the selected questions and answers. may be used by intelligent routing system 925 to connect to. Success or failure (lack thereof) in the interaction between network device 906 and user device 920 (as indicated by an assigned score or observed indicator of user satisfaction) is further stored in message data store 935; It can then be used to refine subsequent routing decisions. For example, a successful interaction with an expert at user device 920 may be used to route more subsequent conversations surrounding the subject of the question and answer.

[00119] In some implementations, message recommendation system 930 may evaluate messages stored in message data store 935 using one or more machine learning or artificial intelligence algorithms. For example, the message recommendation system 930 may perform K-means clustering, mean-shift clustering, density-based spatial clustering for noisy applications (DBSCAN) on the database of messages stored in the message data store 935. 1, such as Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise clustering, Expectation-Maximization (EM) clustering using Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs), and other suitable machine learning algorithms. One or more clustering algorithms may be performed. In some implementations, a recurrent neural network (RNN) or a convolutional neural network (CNN) may be used to predict response messages to assist the agent. In some implementations, message recommendation system 930 uses support vector machines (SVMs), supervised, semi-supervised, etc. to predict responses to incoming messages received from network devices during a communication session. All previous messages may be evaluated using ensemble techniques, or unsupervised machine learning techniques. For example, message recommendation system 930 evaluates the content of messages received from network devices (or messages received at communication server 910 from bots or terminal devices) and stores the results of the evaluation in message data store 935. may be compared to one or more clusters of previous messages. Once clusters are identified, message recommendation system 930 may identify the most relevant response messages based on a confidence threshold. For example, an incoming message (eg, received from network device 905 at communication server 910) may correspond to a technical issue based on the content of the incoming message. Message recommendation system 930 may identify that an incoming message corresponds to a technical problem based on an evaluation of the content of the incoming message (eg, text evaluation). Message recommendation system 930 may access message data store 935 to identify clusters of messages associated with a technical problem. Message recommendation system 930 may select one or more response messages (and associated endpoints) within a cluster of messages based on a confidence threshold. For example, an expert on a technical problem may be identified as having successfully solved similar problems in the past and, based on this identification, has been observed to exhibit or communicate indicators of a technical problem. may be dynamically routed to a network device 905 that As a non-limiting example, a confidence algorithm may be implemented to generate a confidence score. The lower the percentage, the less likely the response is to be a good prediction for an incoming message, and the higher the percentage, the more likely the response is to be a good prediction for an incoming message. It can be a percentage value. A minimum confidence threshold may be defined as a measure of certainty or trustworthiness associated with each discovered pattern. Additionally, examples of confidence algorithms may be Apriori Algorithms, similarity algorithms that indicate similarity between two data sets, and other suitable confidence algorithms.

[00120] FIG. 10 illustrates an example process for switching between a bot and a user device during a communication session with a network device. At step 1005, a message is received from a first user. Messages may include questions. For example, a message may state, "What is the cheapest flight from New York to Los Angeles?" However, it is contemplated that the questions may relate to any topic, such as news, weather, sports, shopping, technology, entertainment, travel, and/or the like.

[00121] At step 1010, a response to the message is received. The response may include an answer to the question. For example, the response to the question "What is the cheapest flight to Los Angeles?" could be "Great Airways has flights from New York to Los Angeles for $287." In some embodiments, both a message and a response may be received from the first user. In other embodiments, messages and responses may be received from different users.

[00122] At step 1015, the questions and answers may be published to the second user's device. Questions and answers may be selected for the second user based on one or more characteristics of the second user. For example, cookies or browsing history information may be accessed about the second user to determine the second user's interests, demographic information, and/or the like. In the above example, the second user may be determined to live in New York and travel frequently. This particular question and answer may therefore be published to the second user's device.

[00123] At step 1020, a follow-up request is received from a second user's device. A follow-up request may ask for further information regarding the response. In the example above, the follow-up request may ask, "When is that flight available?" At step 1025, a communication session may be facilitated between the first user and the second user. The first user may provide further information to the second user. In the above example, the additional information could be "Tuesday 7am".

[00124] At step 1030, session data may be saved as historical data. In addition to information and communications regarding interactions between a first user and a second user, session data includes the questions and answers presented to the first user and one of the questions and answers for viewing. It may include one or more of the first user's selections, any follow-up requests related to any of the questions and answers, and ratings or other indicators related to the quality of the matches between the users. For example, the second user may not only provide comments regarding the interaction with the first user, but also directly provide a numerical, categorical, or other type of rating. In some embodiments, user ratings may be inferred from subsequent comments in the conversation or further actions taken (eg, asking the same question again). Such comments or actions may indicate that the current intent may not have been satisfied, and in these instances, the bot may not have been accurate in determining the initial intent. The first user may be tasked with asking follow-up questions regarding whether or not the first user was unable to satisfy the intent, as well as determining possible reasons why or why not. Metadata regarding communications and interactions may also be included in the session data and stored as historical data.

[00125] At step 1035, making decisions regarding the user and similar users, including matching questions and answers to different users, routing conversations between different users (as well as agents and bots), and switching endpoints of conversations. Historical data can be used according to artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to improve decisions. Thus, in an exemplary embodiment, a user engaging in a conversation with a bot may be identified as likely to be interested in certain topics based on historical data, and thus It can be dynamically connected to one or more different associated endpoints (eg, specialized bots, agents, experts, brand representatives) in real time. For example, such identification may be based dynamically and in real time on users currently exhibiting indicators or patterns of behavior consistent with the sessions described above with respect to steps 1005-1030. Additionally, the one or more predictions are made dynamically in real-time with respect to one or more intents of the user, including intents to engage or interact with a particular topic, service, or feature. obtain. Accordingly, response actions may also be taken dynamically and in real time based on the predicted intent(s). Such actions may include different routing or switching decisions related to users that may be dynamically connected to the determined endpoints in real time. Decisions regarding endpoints may be based on predictions as well as real-time data about the user. Thus, over time, the method illustrated in FIG. 10 identifies areas of expertise among different users and connects expert users to other users likely to be interested in such expertise. It not only enables, but also yields feedback and other data that can be used to inform and improve future decisions.

[00126] FIGS. 11A-11N are screenshots of graphical user interfaces used to switch interactions between a bot and a user device during a communication session. In FIG. 11A, the user opens a dialog with the system (i.e., the bot). The system may display multiple questions. Questions may be selected based on user demographics, browsing history, interests, and/or the like. In some embodiments, questions may be selected based on timing, eg, newest questions and answers posted, popularity, highest ratings, etc. In FIGS. 11B-11E, the user scrolls through the available questions displayed to determine which question to select. In FIG. 11F, the user selects the question he or she wishes to answer. In this example, he selected "What is your favorite restaurant in Brooklyn?" In FIG. 11G, the user answers the question. Users also receive feedback in the form of ratings on the quality of their answers. Ratings may be provided by the system or may be solicited from other users reviewing posted questions and answers.

[00127] In FIG. 11H, the system asks the user if there are any questions for which he would like to provide another answer. In FIG. 11I, the user asks, "Where are the best places to eat in NYC?" The user is prompted for an answer, and a preview of the question and answer is displayed to the user in FIG. 11J. In FIG. 11K, the user asks the system to publish the question and answer, and the system publishes it. The system then states that another user, Jeff, has a follow-up question that is related to the published question and answer. In FIG. 11L, the system provides buttons to display follow-up questions and either open a communication session with Jeff or decline to speak to Jeff. In FIG. 11M, the user decides to open a communication session with Jeff. As shown in FIG. 11M, Jeff is able to communicate with the user on the same graphical interface such that no phone number or personal information is shown. The user can respond to Jeff's follow-up questions, and Jeff closes the conversation in Figure 11N. The conversation is then passed back to the bot. In FIG. 11N, the user can get feedback about the usefulness of his answers or the conversation in the form of ratings.

[00128] FIGS. 12A-12R are screenshots of graphical user interfaces used to switch between bots during a communication session. Prior to FIG. 12A, several questions and answers may be displayed with which the user can open a communication session. In FIG. 12A, the user requests to open a communication session with Vodafone. The system (ie, the bot) will notify the user how to return to the system after the conversation with Vodafone is finished. FIG. 12B shows a user's conversation with Vodafone, where the user may ask, for example, "How can I get a lower rate?" Vodafone may be operated by a separate or the same bot or by an agent on the terminal device. FIG. 12C shows a list of conversations on the user's device. In FIG. 12D, the user may select the system (ie, "Maven") and return to the conversation with the bot. Once the user states he has returned, the system may display further questions and answers that have been received or located since the user opened the conversation with Vodafone. In FIG. 12E, the user may request more answers if the current answers are insufficient or undesirable. In FIG. 12F, the system may display additional questions and answers, and the user may rate the displayed questions and answers. The user may further initiate a conversation with the person who provided the answer to request further information.

[00129] In FIG. 12G, the system opens a communication session with another user and instructs the requesting user on how to return to the system. FIG. 12H shows conversations with other users regarding questions and answers. FIG. 12I shows how the system can be used to hire creators of questions and answers for goods or services. FIG. 12J shows an interface for collecting payment information. FIG. 12K shows a timer that sums up how long an expert has been used when paying by time period. FIG. 12L may return the user to the chat screen to facilitate further conversation.

[00130] FIG. 12M shows a list of all conversations by the user. As shown in FIG. 12N, the user may select the system (ie, "Maven") to return to the conversation with the system. In FIG. 12N, the system may display any new relevant (or unrelated) questions and answers received while the user was away from the conversation.

[00131] In FIG. 12O, the user may select different questions and answers to start different conversations. A message may be sent to the user from the author of the newly selected question and answer. Figure 12P shows an open conversation with the author and the questions and answers exchanged. FIG. 12Q shows a list of all conversations from which the user can select a new conversation or return to the system (ie, "Maven"). The user may state that they are back in the conversation and the process may continue.

[00132] The disclosed methods may be performed using a computing system. An example computing system may include a processor (eg, central processing unit), memory, non-volatile memory, and interface devices. The memory may store data and/or one or more code sets, software, scripts, etc. The components of the computer system may be coupled to each other via a bus or through any other known or convenient device. A processor may be configured to perform all or some of the methods described herein, for example, by executing code stored in memory. One or more of a user device or computer, a provider server or system, or a suspended database update system may include components of a computing system or a variation of such a system.

[00133] This disclosure contemplates computer systems taking any suitable physical form, including, but not limited to, point-of-sale systems ("POS"). By way of example and not limitation, a computer system may include an embedded computer system, a system on a chip (SOC), a single board computer system (SBC) (e.g., a computer on a module (COM) or a system on a module (SOM), etc.), a desktop computer, etc. The system may be a laptop or notebook computer system, an interactive kiosk, a mainframe, a mesh of computer systems, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a server, or a combination of two or more of these. Where appropriate, the computer system may include one or more computer systems; may be single or distributed; may span multiple locations; may span multiple machines; and/or one or May reside in a cloud, which may include one or more cloud components in multiple networks. Where appropriate, one or more computer systems can perform one or more steps of one or more methods described or illustrated herein without substantial spatial or temporal limitations. It is possible. By way of example and not limitation, one or more computer systems may perform one or more steps of one or more methods described or illustrated herein in real time or batch mode. One or more computer systems may perform one or more steps of one or more methods described or illustrated herein at different times or at different locations, where appropriate.

[00134] The processor may be a conventional microprocessor, such as, for example, an Intel Pentium microprocessor or a Motorola power PC microprocessor. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the terms "machine-readable (storage) medium" or "computer-readable (storage) medium" include any type of device that can be accessed by a processor.

[00135] Memory may be coupled to the processor, eg, by a bus. Memory may include, by way of example and not limitation, random access memory (RAM), such as dynamic RAM (DRAM) and static RAM (SRAM). Memory can be local, remote, or distributed.

[00136] The bus may also couple the processor to the non-volatile memory and drive unit. Nonvolatile memory is often a magnetic floppy or hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, an optical disk, a read-only memory (ROM) such as a CD-ROM, an EPROM, or an EEPROM, or a magnetic or optical card. , or another form of storage for large amounts of data. Some of this data is often written to memory by direct memory access processes while software is running on the computer. Nonvolatile storage can be local, remote, or distributed. Non-volatile memory is optional since the system can be created with all applicable data available in memory. A typical computer system will typically include at least a processor, memory, and a device (eg, a bus) coupling the memory to the processor.

[00137] The software may be stored in non-volatile memory and/or the drive unit. In fact, for large programs, it may not even be possible to store the entire program in memory. It is understood, however, that in order to execute the software, it is moved, if necessary, to a computer readable location suitable for processing, which location is referred to herein as memory for purposes of illustration. Should. Even when software is moved to memory for execution, the processor uses hardware registers to store values associated with the software and a local cache that ideally serves to speed up execution. can be used. As used herein, when a software program is referred to as being "implemented on a computer-readable medium," it means that the software program is in any known or convenient location (from non-volatile storage to hardware registers). It is assumed that it is remembered. A processor is considered "configured to execute a program" when at least one value associated with the program is stored in a register readable by the processor.

[00138] A bus may also couple the processor to a network interface device. The interface may include one or more of a modem or a network interface. It will be appreciated that a modem or network interface may be considered part of a computer system. The interface may include an analog modem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN0 modem, a cable modem, a token ring interface, a satellite transmission interface (e.g., "Direct PC"), or other interface for coupling the computer system to other computer systems. An interface may include one or more input and/or output (I/O) devices, such as, by way of example and not limitation, a keyboard, a mouse or other pointing device, a disk drive, Other input and/or output devices may be included, including printers, scanners, and display devices, including, by way of example and not limitation, a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), or some other applicable display device. may include any known or convenient display device.

[00139] During operation, a computer system may be controlled by operating system software, including a file management system, such as a disk operating system. One example of operating system software that has associated file management system software is the family of operating systems known as Windows® from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., and their associated file management systems. Another example of operating system software with its associated file management system software is the Linux® operating system and its associated file management system. The file management system may be stored in the non-volatile memory and/or the drive unit and provides data input and output to the processor, including storing files on the non-volatile memory and/or drive unit, and provides data to the memory. Various operations required by the operating system to store may be performed.

[00140] Some portions of the detailed description may be presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is conceived herein, and generally, to be a self-consistent sequence of operations that produces a desired result. The operations are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, but not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, or otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. know.

[00141] It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms should be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless otherwise specified, throughout this description, as is clear from the description below, "processing" or "computing" or "calculating" or "determining" or "displaying" or "producing" or similar terms are used. Descriptions using such terms refer to operations on data represented as physical (electronic) quantities in computer system registers and memory, computer system memory or registers or other such information storage devices, transmission It is understood to refer to the actions and processes of a computer system or similar electronic computing device to convert other data similarly represented as physical quantities in a device or display device.

[00142] The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove advantageous to construct more specialized apparatus to carry out some example methods. There is. The required structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description below. Additionally, the present techniques are not described with reference to any particular programming language; therefore, various examples may be implemented using a variety of programming languages.

[00143] In various implementations, the system may operate as a standalone device or be connected (eg, networked) to other systems. In a networked deployment, the system may operate in the capacity of a server or client system in a client-server network environment, or as a peer system in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

[00144] The system includes a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, an iPhone (R), a Blackberry ( trademark), processor, telephone, web appliance, network router, switch or bridge, or any system capable of executing (sequentially or otherwise) a set of instructions that specify actions to be taken by that system. It can be.

[00145] While a machine-readable medium or machine-readable storage medium is, by way of example, illustrated as being a single medium, the terms "machine-readable medium" and "machine-readable storage medium" refer to one or It should be understood to include a single medium or multiple mediums (eg, centralized or distributed databases and/or associated caches and servers) that store multiple instruction sets. The terms "machine-readable medium" and "machine-readable storage medium" also refer to a system capable of storing, encoding, or carrying a set of instructions for execution by a system, and to the system disclosed herein. shall be construed to include any medium capable of carrying out any one or more of the methods or modules described herein.

[00146] Generally, the routines executed to implement implementations of the present disclosure are part of an operating system or a particular application, component, program, object, module, or sequence of instructions, referred to as a "computer program." It can be implemented as A computer program typically comprises one or more instructions placed in various memories and storage devices within the computer at various times, and those instructions are executed by one or more processing units within the computer or When read and executed by the processor, it causes the computer to perform operations to implement the elements involved in various aspects of the present disclosure.

[00147] Additionally, although the examples are described in the context of fully functional computers and computer systems, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various examples can be distributed as program objects in a variety of forms. It will be understood that this disclosure applies equally regardless of the particular type of machine-readable or computer-readable medium used to actually accomplish the distribution.

[00148] Further examples of machine-readable, machine-readable, or computer-readable (storage) media include, but are not limited to, volatile and non-volatile memory devices, floppy and other removable disks, hard disk drives, Includes recordable type media, such as optical disks (eg, compact disc read only memory (CD ROMS), digital versatile disc (DVD), etc.), and transmission type media, such as digital and analog communication links.

[00149] In some situations, an operation of a memory device, such as a change in state from a binary 1 to a binary 0, or vice versa, may comprise a transformation, such as a physical transformation, for example. For certain types of memory devices, such physical transformation may comprise a physical transformation of an article into a different state or thing. For example, and without limitation, for some types of memory devices, a change in state may involve the accumulation and storage of charge, or the release of stored charge. Similarly, in other memory devices, the change of state may comprise a physical change or transformation in magnetic orientation or in molecular structure, such as from crystalline to amorphous or vice versa. . The foregoing is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all examples in which a change in state from a binary 1 to a binary 0, or vice versa, in a memory device may comprise a transformation, such as a physical transformation. . Rather, the foregoing is intended as an illustrative example.

[00150] A storage medium typically can be non-transitory or include a non-transitory device. In this context, a non-transitory storage medium may include a device that is tangible, meaning that the device may change its physical state, but not that the device has a tangible physical form. means. Thus, for example, non-transitory refers to a device that remains tangible despite this change in condition.

[00151] The above description and drawings are illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the subject matter to the precise form disclosed. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure. Numerous specific details have been set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details have not been described to avoid obscuring the description.

[00152] As used herein, the terms "connected," "coupled," or any variations thereof, when applied to a module of a system, refer to the relationship between two or more elements. Refers to any connection or coupling, either direct or indirect, and the coupling of connections between elements may be physical, logical, or any combination thereof. Additionally, the terms "herein," "above," "hereinafter," and words of similar import, when used in this application, refer to the entire application and not to any particular portion of the application. shall be. Where the context permits, terms in the Detailed Description above that use singular or plural numbers may also include the plural or singular number, respectively. The term "or" in relation to a list of two or more items covers all of the following interpretations of the term: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, or any of the items in the list. Any combination of items.

[00153] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosed subject matter may be embodied in other forms and ways not shown below. The use of relational terms such as first, second, most and least, etc., if any, does not necessarily require any such actual relationship or ordering between such entities or actions. It is understood that the terms are used only to distinguish one entity or action from another, without meaning or implication.

[00154] Although processes or blocks are presented in a given order, alternative implementations may execute routines with steps or use systems with blocks in a different order, and may use several Processes or blocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, substituted, combined, and/or modified to provide alternative combinations or subcombinations. Each of these processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, although processes or blocks are sometimes depicted as executing sequentially, the processes or blocks may instead be executed in parallel or at different times. Furthermore, any numbers described herein are merely examples; alternative implementations may use different values or ranges.

[00155] The teachings of the disclosure provided herein may be applied to other systems, not necessarily the systems described above. The elements and acts of the various examples described above may be combined to provide further examples.

[00156] Any patents and applications and other references mentioned above, including any that may be listed in the accompanying application documents, are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the disclosure may be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems, features, and concepts of the various references described above to provide still further examples of the disclosure.

[00157] These and other modifications may be made to the present disclosure in light of the detailed description above. Although the above discussion describes a particular example and describes the best mode contemplated, the present teachings may be implemented in many ways, no matter how detailed the above is in the text. obtain. Details of the system may vary significantly in its implementation details while still being encompassed by the subject matter disclosed herein. As noted above, a particular term used when describing a particular feature or aspect of the disclosure is limited to any feature, feature, or aspect of the disclosure with which that term is associated. as such, it should not be construed to imply that it has been redefined herein. In general, the terms used in the following claims refer to the specific terms disclosed herein, unless the Detailed Description section above explicitly defines such terms. should not be construed as limited to implementations of . Therefore, the actual scope of the disclosure encompasses not only the disclosed implementations, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the disclosure under the claims.

[00158] Although certain aspects of the disclosure are presented below in the form of certain claims, the inventors contemplate various aspects of the disclosure in the form of any number of claims. . 35U. S. C. Any claim intended to be treated under §112(f) will begin with the term "means for." Accordingly, Applicant reserves the right to add additional claims after filing to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the disclosure.

[00159] The terms used herein generally have their ordinary meanings in the art within the context of this disclosure and in the specific context in which each term is used. Certain terms used to describe the present disclosure are explained above or elsewhere herein to provide additional guidance to the practitioner regarding the description of the present disclosure. explained. For convenience, certain terms may be highlighted, eg, using capital letters, italics, and/or quotation marks. The use of highlighting does not affect the scope and meaning of the term, which is the same in the same context whether or not it is highlighted. It will be understood that the same element can be described in more than one way.

[00160] As a result, alternative wording and synonyms may be used for any one or more of the terms described herein, and the terms may be used as detailed or explained herein. No special importance is placed on whether or not it is done. Synonyms for certain terms are provided. The recitation of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification, including examples of any terms explained herein, is for illustrative purposes only, and the scope and meaning of this disclosure or any illustrated terms. It is not intended to further limit. Similarly, this disclosure is not limited to the various examples provided herein.

[00161] Without intending to further limit the scope of the disclosure, examples of instruments, apparatus, methods, and their related results according to examples of the disclosure are provided below. Note that titles or subtitles may be used in the examples for the convenience of the reader, but this should not limit the scope of the disclosure in any way. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. In the event of a conflict, this document, including definitions, will control.

[00162] Some portions of this description describe examples in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on information. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are commonly used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. Although these operations have been described as functional, computational, or logical, it is understood that they may be implemented by a computer program or equivalent electrical circuitry, microcode, or the like. Additionally, without loss of generality, it has proven convenient at times to refer to these arrangements of operations as modules. The operations described and their associated modules may be implemented in software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof.

[00163] Any of the steps, acts, or processes described herein may be performed or implemented using one or more hardware or software modules, alone or in combination with other devices. obtain. In some examples, a software module is implemented with a computer program object that includes a computer readable medium that includes computer program code to perform any or all of the steps, acts, or processes described. May be executed by a computer processor.

[00164] Examples may also relate to apparatus for performing the operations herein. The apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purpose and/or it may include a general purpose computing device that can be selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored on the computer. Such a computer program may be stored on a non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable storage medium that may be coupled to a computer system bus, or any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. Additionally, any computing system mentioned herein may include a single processor or may be architecture using a multi-processor design for increased computing power.

[00165] Examples may also relate to objects produced by the computing processes described herein. Such an object may comprise information resulting from a computing process, where the information is stored on a non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable storage medium, and where the information is stored on a computer program object or other computer program object described herein. May include any implementation of data combinations.

[00166] The language used herein was selected primarily for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not be selected to delineate or limit the subject matter. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the disclosure be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by the scope of any claims issued on an application based on this specification. Accordingly, the example disclosure is intended to be illustrative, not limiting, of the scope of the subject matter recited in the following claims.

[00167] Specific details have been provided in the foregoing description to provide a thorough understanding of various implementations of systems and components for a contextual connectivity system. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the implementations described above may be practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits, systems, networks, processes, and other components may be shown in block diagram form in order not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments.

[00168] Note also that particular implementations may be described as processes illustrated as flowcharts, flow diagrams, data flow diagrams, structural diagrams, or block diagrams. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations may be performed in parallel or concurrently. Additionally, the order of operations may be reordered. A process ends when its operations are complete, but may have additional steps not included in the drawings. A process may correspond to a method, function, procedure, subroutine, subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination may correspond to the function returning to the calling function or main function.

[00169] Client devices, network devices, and other devices may be computing systems that include one or more integrated circuits, input devices, output devices, data storage devices, and/or network interfaces, among others. An integrated circuit may include, for example, one or more processors, volatile memory, and/or non-volatile memory, among others. Input devices may include, for example, a keyboard, mouse, keypad, touch interface, microphone, camera, and/or other types of input devices. Output devices may include, for example, display screens, speakers, haptic feedback systems, printers, and/or other types of output devices. Data storage devices, such as hard drives or flash memory, may enable computing devices to temporarily or permanently store data. A network interface, such as a wireless or wired interface, may enable a computing device to communicate with a network. Examples of computing devices include desktop computers, laptop computers, server computers, handheld computers, tablets, smartphones, personal digital assistants, digital home assistants, and machines and apparatus in which computing devices are incorporated.

[00170] The term "computer-readable medium" refers to, but is not limited to, a portable or non-portable storage device, an optical storage device, and a device that stores or contains instructions and/or data. including various other media that can be transported. Computer-readable media can include non-transitory media, such as carrier waves and/or transitory electronic signals, on which data can be stored and propagated wirelessly or over a wired connection. Examples of non-transitory media may include, but are not limited to, magnetic disks or magnetic tape, optical storage media such as compact discs (CDs) or digital versatile discs (DVDs), flash memory, memory or memory devices. A computer-readable medium embodies code and/or machine-executable instructions that may represent a procedure, function, subprogram, program, routine, subroutine, module, software package, class, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements. Can be memorized. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, transferred, or transmitted via any suitable means, including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, or the like. obtain.

[00171] Furthermore, the various examples described above may be further implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, the program code or code segments (e.g., a computer program product) for performing necessary tasks may be provided on a computer-readable medium or on a machine-readable medium (e.g., a program code or code segment). (a medium for storing segments). Processor(s) implemented on integrated circuits may perform the necessary tasks.

[00172] When a component is described as being "configured to" perform a particular operation, such configuration includes, for example, incorporating electronic circuitry or other hardware to perform the operation. This may be accomplished by design, by programming a programmable electronic circuit (eg, a microprocessor, or other suitable electronic circuit) to perform the operations, or any combination thereof.

[00173] The various example logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the implementations disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, firmware, or a combination thereof. Can be implemented. To clearly illustrate this compatibility of hardware and software, various example components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in a variety of ways for each particular application, and such implementation decisions should not be construed as causing a departure from the scope of this disclosure.

[00174] The techniques described herein may also be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, firmware, or any combination thereof. Such techniques may be implemented in any of a variety of devices, such as general purpose computers, wireless communication device handsets, or integrated circuit devices that have multiple uses, including applications in wireless communication device handsets and other devices. . Any features described as modules or components can be implemented together in an integrated logic device or separately as discrete but interoperable logic devices. If implemented in software, the techniques may be realized, at least in part, by a computer-readable data storage medium comprising program code containing instructions, which, when executed, perform one or more of the methods described above. perform one or more of the following: The computer-readable data storage medium may form part of the computer program product and may include packaging materials. The computer-readable medium can include random access memory (RAM), such as synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), read-only memory (ROM), non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), etc. , FLASH memory, magnetic or optical data storage media, and the like. The techniques may additionally or alternatively be accessed, read, and/or executed, at least in part, by a computer, such as a propagated signal or wave, and carry or carry program code in the form of data structures or instructions. may be implemented by a computer-readable communication medium that communicates.

[00175] The program code may be executed by a processor, which may be one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), general purpose microprocessors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable logic arrays (FPGAs), or It may include one or more processors, such as other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuits. Such a processor may be configured to perform any of the techniques described in this disclosure. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination DSP and microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Accordingly, as used herein, the term "processor" refers to any of the aforementioned structures, any combination of the aforementioned structures, or any other suitable implementation of the techniques described herein. can refer to a structure or device. Additionally, in some aspects, the functionality described herein may be provided within a dedicated software or hardware module configured for implementation of a suspended database update system.

[00176] The foregoing detailed description of the technology has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the technology to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The described embodiments are intended to best explain the principles of the technology, its practical application, and are intended to be used by others skilled in the art to explain the various embodiments and various modifications appropriate to the particular use contemplated. was chosen to enable the use of technology. It is intended that the scope of the technology be defined by the claims.
The invention described in the original claims of this application will be added below.
[C1]
A computer-implemented method, the method comprising:
receiving one or more responses associated with the question, where the responses are received from one or more client devices;
publishing the question and at least one of the answers to a user's device, wherein the question and the at least one answer are configured for the user based on one or more characteristics of the user; the at least one answer is associated with at least one of the client devices;
receiving a follow-up request from the user device, wherein the follow-up request requests further information regarding the at least one answer;
facilitating a communication session between the user device and the at least one client device based on the follow-up request;
How to prepare.
[C2]
The method of C1, wherein at least one of the question and the response are received from the same one of the client devices.
[C3]
The method of C1, further comprising receiving input regarding the question, the input being received from one of the client devices.
[C4]
The method of C3, wherein a menu of one or more questions is presented to the client device, and the input includes a selection from the menu.
[C5]
The method of C1, wherein the questions are selected further based on one or more predetermined criteria.
[C6]
The method of C1, wherein publishing the question and the at least one answer includes generating a graphical interface.
[C7]
The method of C6, wherein the graphical interface is initially associated with a communication session between the user device and a bot.
[C8]
C6, wherein facilitating the communication session between the user device and the at least one client device includes switching from the communication session with the bot to the communication session with the at least one client device. Method described.
[C9]
The method of C8, further comprising switching back to the communication session with the bot when the communication session with the at least one client device is closed.
[C10]
The method of C1, wherein receiving the follow-up request includes selecting from a menu of follow-up options.
[C11]
The method of C1, further comprising providing a timer that tracks a time of the communication session between the user device and the at least one client device.
[C12]
The method of C10, further comprising determining an amount to be paid based on the tracked time.
[C13]
The method of C1, further comprising receiving a rating from the user device, wherein the rating is associated with the at least one client device.
[C14]
The method of C1, wherein the communication session is configured such that one type of information associated with the at least one client device is not indicated.
[C15]
The method of C1, further comprising storing information regarding the communication session in association with historical data.
[C16]
The method of C14, further comprising initiating one or more subsequent communication sessions based on the historical data.
[C17]
A system,
A communication interface for communicating on a communication network, wherein the communication interface comprises:
receiving one or more responses associated with the question, wherein the responses are received from one or more client devices;
publishing the question and at least one of the answers to a user's device, wherein the question and the at least one answer are configured for the user based on one or more characteristics of the user; selected, the at least one answer being associated with at least one of the client devices;
receiving a follow-up request from the user device, wherein the follow-up request requests further information regarding the at least one answer;
a processor executing instructions stored in memory to facilitate a communication session between the user device and the at least one client device based on the follow-up request;
A system equipped with
[C18]
receiving one or more responses associated with the question, where the responses are received from one or more client devices;
publishing the question and at least one of the answers to a user's device, wherein the question and the at least one answer are configured for the user based on one or more characteristics of the user; the at least one answer is associated with at least one of the client devices;
receiving a follow-up request from the user device, wherein the follow-up request requests further information regarding the at least one answer;
facilitating a communication session between the user device and the at least one client device based on the follow-up request;
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a program executable thereon embodied thereon to perform a method comprising:

Claims (18)

A computer-implemented method, the method comprising:
receiving one or more responses associated with the question, where the responses are received from one or more client devices;
publishing the question and at least one of the responses to a user's device, wherein the question and the at least one response are configured for the user based on one or more characteristics of the user; the at least one response is associated with at least one of the client devices;
receiving a follow-up request from the device of the user, wherein the follow-up request requests further information regarding the at least one response ;
establishing a communication session between the device of the user and the at least one client device based on the follow-up request;
How to prepare. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the question and the response are received from the same one of the client devices. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving input regarding the question, the input being received from one of the client devices. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein a menu of one or more questions is presented on the client device, and the input includes a selection from the menu. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the questions are selected further based on one or more predetermined criteria. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein publishing the question and the at least one response includes generating a graphical interface. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the graphical interface is initially associated with a communication session between the device of the user and a bot. Facilitating the communication session between the device of the user and the at least one client device includes switching from the communication session with the bot to the communication session with the at least one client device; The method according to claim 7 . 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising switching back to the communication session with the bot when the communication session with the at least one client device is closed. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the follow-up request includes selecting from a menu of follow-up options. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a timer that tracks a time of the communication session between the device of the user and the at least one client device. 12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising determining an amount to be paid based on the tracked time. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a rating from the device of the user, wherein the rating is associated with the at least one client device. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication session is configured such that one type of information associated with the at least one client device is not indicated. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing information about the communication session in association with historical data. 16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising initiating one or more subsequent communication sessions based on the historical data. A system,
a communication interface for communicating on a communication network, wherein the communication interface comprises:
receiving one or more responses associated with the question, wherein the responses are received from one or more client devices;
publishing the question and at least one of the responses to a user's device, wherein the question and the at least one response are configured for the user based on one or more characteristics of the user; selected, the at least one response being associated with at least one of the client devices;
receiving a follow-up request from the device of the user, wherein the follow-up request requests further information regarding the at least one response ;
a processor executing instructions stored in memory to establish a communication session between the device of the user and the at least one client device based on the follow-up request;
A system equipped with receiving one or more responses associated with the question, where the responses are received from one or more client devices;
publishing the question and at least one of the responses to a user's device, wherein the question and the at least one response are configured for the user based on one or more characteristics of the user; the at least one response is associated with at least one of the client devices;
receiving a follow-up request from the device of the user, wherein the follow-up request requests further information regarding the at least one response ;
establishing a communication session between the device of the user and the at least one client device based on the follow-up request;
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a program executable thereon embodied thereon to perform a method comprising:

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